Athens, Georgia – Georgia hosted Furman Monday at Stegeman Coliseum. The Lady Bulldogs were able to bounce back in a tough, hard-fought game, which saw them prevail over the Paladins, 67-62.
The Lady Bulldogs have faced tough non-conference teams already this season. In fact, six of the first eight teams Georgia played qualified for postseason play last year. To the Bulldogs’ surprise, Furman proved to be yet another competitive non-conference matchup.
Georgia was feeling the fatigue from six games in just over two weeks. The team had aggression at the start of the first half, but they began to slip, and the half came to a close. The Paladins took full advantage. Intermission began with the Bulldogs trailing by seven, 38-31.
“We felt the grind in the second quarter, where our legs were kind of hurt,” said Georgia’s Haley Clark. “But, we’ve been through this. We’ve been through practice. We’ve been through preseason. That’s where we’ve seen this before, so it’s nothing new.”
At the start of the second half, the tenacity and focus was back on offense for the Lady Bulldogs, and the team’s focus led to essential stops on defense.
Still, Furman continued to hold a threatening position.
“Left foot, right foot, breathe, repeat,” said Georgia head coach Joni Taylor quoting the late Pat Summitt. “I was on the sideline reminding myself to breathe. But, I’m happy that our team came back and got a win.”
The Lady Bulldogs struggled with fouls yesterday — especially near the end of the game. However, Taylor explained how this is not the first time that has happened this season. She also mentioned that there would be a focus on fouls in practices to come.
“We are going to have a lot to fix, but I am proud of how they fought back in the third and fourth quarter,” said Taylor.
Next up: The Lady Bulldogs are looking forward to a breather before their next game on December 15 against Cincinnati. Furman will face VCU tomorrow.